Spbincj leaf lttbbicatok



une 9, 1931.

SPRING LEAF LUBRICATOR F. x'. LA cHALL FledMay ll, 1927 2 sheets-sheet 1 l Z7 cszla Cell,

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` June 9, 1931. F. x.-LA.' CHALL SPRING LEAF LUBRICATOR 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed May ll, `193'? Patented June 9V, 1931 i' FRANCIS X. LA GHALL, or LosANeELEs, CALIFORNIA I ermite' LEAF LUBnIcAToR Application alsa May` 11,

My invention is a spring leaf lubricator for" automobiles or the like to lubricate the leaf e springs in accordance with leaves undergo.v

Anl object ofl my vinvention is a spring leaf lubricator for automobile or other spring leaves which are subject to vibration, bumping or shaking and the like, of such a charac'- ter that the lubricant is fed to the leaves in the action the 0 accordance with the amount of action of the leaf spring. That is on` a bumpy road f a greater amount of lubricant is fed tol the springs than on a smooth road, or if a relatively smooth road is traveled at high speed a greater amount of lubricant will be distributed over the' leaves lof the spring than the ame road taken at slow speed in which there is veryrlittle spring action;v Another object ofmy invention is a spring leaf lubricator which maybe clamped tothe spring itself or to a part of the structure of the vehicle, such as the axle, which has a rela-v tive movement with thev spring in relation to the frame of the vehicle.

Another object of my invention is a spring leaf lubricator havinga pump type of-device which, due to the bouncing and vibration of the leaves of the spring, pumps'oil from a receptacle through suitable conduits or ducts to the spring leaves, over and between which the oil is thence distributed. f v Another object of my' inventionis the construction of alubricator with `a receptacle having a vibration orv bump actuated pump which may be readily disassembled andassembled and also having a control Vvalve by which the amount of lubricant passing to. the

4springs maybe regulated. l

VIn constructing my invention, I havea receptacle'fwithmeans tofattach same to the springs of avehicle, or to fsomeother struc.n

ture such as the axle, this receptacle havingv a small pump cylinder therein'and a-'plunger operating in such 'cylindeigtheplunger being connected or constructed integral With a weight, which weight may bouncefupfand jdown duev to the vibration orspringaction and pump oil from the receptaclethrough a duct, which duct is connected by flexible tubes `to distributing outlets. 'These outlets are spring in elevation.

1927'. y serialVv Nd.' 190,464.

clamped tothe sides of a leafof a spring and the oil distributed between such leaves. My invention vinzits various aspectsandin-. stallations isillustrated inthe accompany-fk ing drawingsain whichrl* Figure '1` shows `a semi-,elliptic spring .over

hung on the axle, with a pair ofmy l'ubricafV f tors connectedthereto.; 'i

. Figure 2 is 'a plan view'of. another type of installation, as if taken inthe vdirection, of the arrow Qrof Fig. 3, showingthelubricator receptacle clamped to the axlevor to a. brack `et,securing the spring to the axle, with flexible tubes carrying the oil to opposite endsof a semi-elliptical spring.

Figure 3 is a side elevation of the installa-v tionof Fig. 2 taken in the fdirectionjofvthe arrow 3,' with the axle shown inV section.

v lFigure l is an elevation illustrating thel atl tachment of my lubricator toa semi-elliptic transverse spring.

"Figure '5 is a plan view, partly bro'lren f Y away, showing the receptacle, the tubes lead-- ing to the springs, and the nozzles or outlets attached to a leaf. Y `l i f Y Figure 6 is a longitudinal sectionftalren on theline 6-6-6of Fig. 5 in the direction :of the arrows.

Figure 7 is a transverse section von'fthe line 7 -7 V'of Figs. 5 and 6 showingthe attaching vFigure 8'is aV transverse,section'onvthe yline 8`8`v of Figs. 5 and 6, 'showingthe outletsor. nozzles as attached to a spring. i

Figure 9 is a dani section Qn the 'laiss-9 of Fig'. a`

`Such receptacle is designated generallyA by e k'lhefoil receptacle'is' constructed .substanaV K' tially as follows, having reference p'articuf:

the numeral lland has abase 12 with Va large, V

preferably circular', -opening l13A. ,.therein. y* ormed integral withlthe baseare'endwalls lt and 15 andoppositel side walls 16.VV The i.

topl?` is formed integral "with the side and end walls and has afilling opening yl8'therethrough, closed by@ plug .19

A bloclrl is formed preferably integral with the top and the end 15 and hasa recess 2a therein, and projecting trentennale vthere is a screw threaded spigot 23. An oil duct 34 extends through the block 21, the end closure plate 26 having peripheral: edges formed with angles` to conform tothe edges of the opening 13 and the rim 25. A pump barrel-27 is formed integral with the closure plate 26 and has one or more inlet ports 28 preferably slightly above its base. A lug 29 extends upwardly from the closure plate and has a plug 30 fitting in the recess 22. There is an oil duct 31 extending from the base of pump barrel below the inlet ports 28, which base has its bottom. 32 below the bottom off the insideof the base 12-V and the inside of theclosureplate 26. This oil duct extends upwardly through the lug 29 and the plug 30,

discharging into the upper part of the'recess 22. i

A cylindrical plunger 33 fits in theV pump barrel and has.l annular weights 34 connected thereto3these being spaced from the plunger by si deep vertical groove 35. The groove 35 is of sufficient width toleave a clear oil space onthe outside of the pum-p barrel 27 and there isa clearancel space 36 between the lower ends of the weights and the top surface of the closnreplate2'6 andthe base 12 of the receptacle. The topk 37 of the combined. pump-plunger 33 and theweights34 is spaced a sufficient distance 38 fromlthe top 17 o-f the receptacle so that in the upward position of the plunger, as shownwdotted in Fig. 6, the plunger will still be retained in the pump barrel but above the ports28; The top 37 ofthe plunger 33, is tapered,producing in eect a more or less stream-line shape to which the oil offers less resistance' as the plunger moves upwards, than ywere' the top ofthe plunger perfectly flat.

A controlling valve assembly 39 is formed by securinga. valve structure 40 on the spigot .23 by rmeans ofa coupling 421. A stem 42 is screw threaded through the valve structure and has a needlepoint adapted to seat against the valvev seat 43 on the end of the spigot. Afnenlargedl chamber 44 isformed back of the needle point of the valve which functions as anairspace, in operation and from thsspace `duets 45 extend to the lflexible oil pipes 46'.

The point of entranceof the ducts'45 into the chamber 44, is lower than that at which the duct 3l. enters the chamber, with there sult-,t-hat the oil that is forced past the needle valve,will1-fall byv gravity to a positionfrom which, it kwillilow into the ducts45 and thus avoid being drawn back into the duct 31 when the plunger startsite return stroke.

VThese oil pipes 4 6 lead to oil distributors 50,1each distributor having a duct 51 there through'.v which` leads to,` an outlet 52, on a curved side surface 530i such outlet o r nozi- Zle, this surface being shaped to fit the side edge of a leaf of a spring, as indicated in Fig. 8. The distributors. or nozzles are clamped to the spring by means of a clamp bolt 54, this bolt having a passage 55 through one of the distributors and being threaded in the other distributor 56.

lf the oil receptacle with its internal pump is to be clamped to a spring, I preferably utilize a coiled tension spring 57, which is secured to hooksk 58 which may be welded to the side walls of the receptacle fitting in holes 59 or if desired these hooks may fit loosely in the holes 59, the attachment being as illustrated in detail in Figs. 5 through 7 and in assembly as in Figs. 1 and 4, the ends of the springs engaging througheyes 60 on the hooks.

The manner of operation and functioning of my spring leaf lubricator as thus described isV substantially as follows After attachment to a spring the receptacle may be filled by removing the filling plug 19 and as the spring works up and down, due to the bumps on the road, the weighted plunger is given an up and down motion, this motion being limited by the top of the receptacle, and on the upward movement oil flows through the ports 28 into the pump barrel and on the downward stroke, due to t-he weight of the plunger, the oil is forced out of' the bottom of the barrel through the duct 3-1. It will be seen that on the down stroke if the plunger is thrown upwardly to its full extent, some of the oil will be forced from the barrel baclrwarclly through the ports 28 into the receptacle and only the oil below the ports will be forced through the duct 31, which leads through the lug 29 and communicates the oil tothe duct 24. The valve 39 may be regulated by screwing the valve stem 42 in or out to regulate the opening between the needle valve and the seat for such valve. From this valve the oil is carried by the distributing tubes 49 to the distributors or nozzles 50. y These distributors preferably lead the oil to the upper leaf of the spring and to a high point on the spring proper, and from such leaf the oil seeps lengthwise between the upper leaf and the leaf next thereto and becomes distributed between all the leaves of the spring. Y

From the above it will be seen that the lubrication of the spring is dependent on the spring action, thatis if the road is very bumpy t-he pump plunger is violently shaken up and down, pumping a considerable amount of oil, whereas if the road is smooth or a rough road is taken at slow speed the action is much less and a lesser quantity of oil is distributed. Hence it will be seen that I have not only developed. an appliance but also a method of lubricating leaf springs in which the amount of oil corresponds to the requirements` of. the

Y spring and gives more oil for a largespring 1ero tends upwardly but otherwise may be similarV to the'valve assembly 39, the spigot being on top ofthe receptacle. The flexible pipes68 are connected to the side of the outlet and" extend to the distributors attached to the springs, there being a Y connection 69. By

this layout theroil is equally distributed to.

the front and the back of the spring.

The action of the lubrcator as installed in Figs. 2 and 3 is substantially the same as when installeddirectly on the spring. This installation is suitable Where there is insufficient space between the top of the spring and the bottom of the frame. When the receptacle is attached directly to the axle it issubject, however, more directly to the roadshocks than when mounted on the spring and it may be necessary to adjust the valve slightly closer to restrict the flow of oil.

Although I have shown my Alubricator as attached to semi-elliptic springs, it is to be understood that it may be utilized substantially as effectively on the cantilever type of spring and on three-quarter or full elliptic springs, or any other type of leaf spring construction, and for lubricating springs for any purpose in which they are subject to vibration or the receptaclewill be subject to shock.

In Fig. 9 I illustrate a discharge arrangement from the center of the 'oil receptacle,l suitable for discharging the oil, as shown in Figs. 2 and 3, to opposite ends of the spring. In this case a lug extends upwardly from the base'l2' of the receptacle and fits into a recess 76 in the top 17. A spigot-7 7 is threaded through the top 17 of the receptacle and has a cup structure 78 securedadjacent the upper end of such spigot. A needle valve 7 9k is threaded through the closure plate 80 of this cup, the valve having a seat 8l in the spigot, closing the oil duct` 82 which leads from ythe oil duct 83 in the lug 75 to the valve. The

oil lills this cup vabove the discharge-pipe 68 f and on account of thebottom of the cup beingv below the top of the spigot, the oil does not back flow from the springs or the pipes 68 to the oil receptacle. Various changes may be-made in the'principles of my invention without departing' from the spirit thereof, .asset forth in the description, drawings and claims.

-I claim: 1 l. A spring lubricator, comprising in `comtributor, means for attaching said distributor to a spring, oil ducts leading from the barrel groove inv which the pump bar el is disposed, .and means for limiting themovement of said plunger.

2. A spring lubricator comprising in combination, an oil receptacle having an opening in the base, a closure plate associated with o said opening, a pump barrel mounted on said closure plate and havingports therein leading into said receptacle, a weighted pumpv plunger slidable in said barrel, means for restricting the movement of said plunger, a lug connectedv to said closure plate and tting plunger, said weight havin an annular' wit-hin a recess in said receptacle, an oil duct from the pump barrel through Vsaid lug to said recess, an oil distributor, meansfor attaching saiddistributor to a spring, and a second duct leading from said recess -to` said distributors.

. Y 3. '.A spring lubricator as set forth inrclaim 2, a spigot associated with said receptacle,

Asaid second duct leading through said spigot,

valve means carriedby said spigot and controlling the flow through said second duct.

4. A spring lubricatorcomprising in comv bination, an oil receptacle having a fiat base with an opening therein, a closure plate for said opening, a cylindrical pump rbarrel car- ;ried-by said closureplate and having ports vthrough the base-thereof leading -into the receptacle, a Ypump plunger slidable in said barrel, an annular weight connecte-d 'to said plunger 4and separated from the plunger proper by a groove in which said pump barrel fits, .a lug connected'to saidclosure p-late and fitting in a recess in the top of said receptacle,

a duct leading from the pump barrel to'said p' recess through said lug, the top of the receptacle forming a limiting-means for the upstroke of'said plunger, oil distributors, means` for clamping said distributors to a spring, tubes lea/dingfrom said distributors to said duct, and a valve controlling flow .into said tubes'.

In testimonywhereof have signed my name tothis specification. Y

FnANeIsXgLA oHALL.

bination a receptacle, a pump barrel *havingV ports leading therefrom into said receptacle, a pump plunger slidable in said barrel and 

